is the disney club worth it?

[firecracker]

We are on a strict budget for our upcoming WDW trip. We had a free MKC card last trip that we used to buy our park hoppers. Now we'd have to buy a Disney Club card and pay $40 for the honor of a small ticket discount. Are there other options for ticket discounts? Is it worth the annual fee? Also, can I buy tickets for more than just my immediate family with a DC card? Two families are traveling together and it seems crazy to buy 2 club memberships ($80!).

Thanks for any advice.

[Lynn-Marie]

Firecracker,

I'm also looking for an answer to this question.

I know that there's a good discount for you on the Disney Club if you have an Entertainment book -- they have a discount code that entitles you to a savings of about $5, I believe. The code is EAD2. Let me know if you need more specific info.

[scanmom]

My DC card has more than paid for itself. But I use mine alot at the Disney Store to buy merchandise. It does save about 5% on park hoppers, so do the math and see if it is worth it to you. Remember, you have to have the card in hand to get the discounts, so if you are going to get one, allow time for processing/mailing. Yes, you can buy the tix for your friends. Just purchase the amount of tix you need. They don't have names on hopper passes and no one will ask you who they are for. I have gone to our local Disney Store and bought them for several of my friends and I wasn't even going on the trip with them (please don't blast me, I don't have a morality problem with this, if you do then don't do it yourself!) Have a great trip!!!:jester:

[kecall]

The best thing for you to do is to "do the math"...figure out the cost of rooms/tickets with versus without the DC discount.

Frankly, I never use the card for the restaurant discounts, etc. (Although, we did go to the large disney store in DD this past trip and saved 10% on all the gifts that we bought! -- But that alone wouldn't make the card worthwhile for me!)

We did get the card because we got discounts for our AP's, etc......just need to put it on paper and see what works for you...some love it...some don't!

[josierac]

I have heard that the discounts for rooms with a DC is going to be more than what they are currently offering for next year. I have been told to watch out for the December letter.

We shall see.

[aprincessmom]

I've saved over $300 on rooms, and about $100 at the Disney store. I've used it for the tickets and have used the Entertainment book discounts locally.

It all depends on your family. If you can only travel during peak time, you won't save any money on your rooms with the card. Since we can travel during non-peak, it's a big saver. We also shop at the Disney store. I've gotten some great buys with that discount (piling it on top of other markdowns). So for us it's a great investment.

[Hessie628]

i think the dc is worth it. i became a member last march and i went to wdw w/friends in june. i wasn't able to use any of the codes for that time to get a discount, but i was able to save money on our room at por. i also used the dc card to get my friends' tickets (my brother had bought mine for me already as a gift) and i used it to buy gifts in dd. i think it is definitely worth getting- especially i you are getting hoppers for your friends too.

[We4mickey]

We have saved hundreds with our DC card. Disney store, tickets, ressies and now that it is hooked up with the entertainment card it saves me another $35.00 a year because I don't have to buy that book too.

[EMMADOO]

My husband got a sample version of the club card from his employer which I used to for three nights at All Star Music before our dance group arrives. The first time I called I forgot to mention the code from the card and got a rate of $124 a night. Then when I called back two days later, I gave the code and got a rate of $66 per night. Plus I can get hopper passes at approximately 23% off the regular rate. And I use at the disney store all the time.
What a great card.

[Mskanga]

I'm curious...EMMADOO , how did you get 23% off the tickets? I never heard of such a discount and I have a DC.
Back to the original poster, if you are using this only for tickets the answer is no, it's not worth it, if you have AAA you get just as much of a discount, same applies to room discounts. If you go to the disney store a lot then it may be worth it. I know I will not be renewing mine next year.

[janiejo]

DC also gives you a discount on National Car rental. We have had the DC for years (used to be a MK Gold card) and have felt it has more than paid for itself in discounts at the various restaurants, shopping at DD, and park passes.

[EMMADOO]

Along with my husband's card there was a packet of other information. In the packet was an order form for tickets. The regular price for a 5 day hopper pass through Disney is $218 for adult and $172 for children. With my order form, I can get the hopper pass for $169 adult and $135 for children. That's a savings of $49 per adult and $34 per child.

[LynnB]

EMMADOO, did you order your card recently? I just called and ordered the card on Monday figuring I'd get the standard 5% discount on passes with it. Would love to be able to purchase the hopper at the price you mentioned. Hope that order form is included with my card when I get it.

[Puffy2]

Emmadoo, who does your husband work for? I'm just guessing, but I bet it's one of those rare situations where the company has a partnership with Disney and hence, occasionally gets the offer for discounted tickets. Didn't ATT employees get this this past summer? Just asking.

[LindaBabe]

AP discounts on rooms have saved me enough not to bother with DC and since the Disney store backed off on much of their adult merchandise, I haven't bought anything there since last year. I'm not renewing unless they promise something MUCH better next year. (I saved tons with my free MKC card in years past.)

[silly sally]

What is this entertainment book everyone is talking about. How do i get one and what will it do for me. I am a member of the disney club and i have never used it yet, But i love the magazine i get. I am going to Disney in March so i will use it then. I am going to do some of my shopping from the Disney catalog also. I hope i do well. I also want to know about that 23% discount. I have to renew my DC membership in Jan.:pinkbounc

[EMMADOO]

My husband is a general manager at McDonald's. The owner of the one he works for owns 13 restaurants all together so that may be one reason we can get such a good deal. I also got three nights at the All Star Music for $66 a night for the end of May just before Memorial Day.

[amp078]

If you are going to join the DC, I would take advantage of the 90 day free trial period. Yes, they do charge your credit card for the total amount to join but you have the option if you are not satisfied with the savings of cancelling the card for a full refund. I was planning on doing this since i joined in Sept and went to WDW in Nov. but now I'm not so sure because I do use it quite a bit in TDS. I only have a few days left to decide!!!

[dianeschlicht]

We use the DC only for purchasing Annual passes to WDW, but it is still worth the discount for those. We are DVC members, so the other DC perks aren't applicable, but the savings for AP's is well worth the $30 renewal for the DC.

[MaggieMouse]

I thought the discounts for next year were terrible. For parkhoppers, I think it's $16 off or something. I just got mine in the mail yesterday/

[SuzyQue]

We4mickey ...how has the DC card hooked up with the Entertainment card? I wasn't aware of this. ~:)~

[pokeysmom]

is there a specific site where i can find out what discounts you get with dc, we leave in 26 days will i have time to get it?

[minijeanie]

I got the DC card last year and it was worth it for me. The hopper passes as reported are a measly 5% off. But is in inconceviale to think that you go to WDW without purchasing anything. You get 10% off at Downtown Disney which is the only place I buy any shirts or souveniers. ALso, you get a discount on some restaurants, Disney Quest and the water parks if your hopper did not cover it. Last year, we used the card for Hoop De DOo Revue.

I also use it to buy merchandise in the Disney stores. Radio Disney was on tour this year and it had a performance about 15 minutes from my house. I received 4 free tickets in the mail. I know this was of course due to owning a DC card. My DD got to see Aaron Carter, A-teens, Myra and Jessica SImpson. Also, last week, I received a 50% off card in the mail to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. I got tkts for January. The recent news letter allows for $10 off the renewal price which if you sign up again by Dec.31st. This makes it $30 for the year. If you go to WDW once and stay inside, you certainly will recoup that $$$

For these reasons, it is worth it for me.

[sandee]

Ihad already subscribed to Disney Magazine before joining the club so I just get the magazine I'd already paid for, I think the discounts are skimpy, when I do get some coupon offers the majority are for Disneyland in Calif. (does anyone know how well Calif. adventure is doing because Disney sure pushes it - maybe because it's new), I don't like "package deals" when I vacation at DW so I don't get any discounts on DW hotels.... I wont be renewing my card. Pls. don't think I'm Disney bashing - I just booked my 3rd cruise (how about a Disney Club discount for cruisers???) and am heading for DW next Sat. I love Disney! I just feel for my hard earned $$ I didn't get much in return. Especially when I got a lot of the same deals with a free Disney club card for years. Other then a pin, I really didn't get anything for my $39. that I didn't get for free before. I was really excited before joining - silly me - I figured if someone suddenly charges you $39. for something they'd just given away before, they must be planning some really great offers.

[DW mouser]

If you purchase a membership before the end of Dec., it's $29.95 with code HGSM. It is definitely worth it if you like to receive the newsletters, advertisements specials and magazine 4 times a year! I save that much on discounts on tickets, food and merchandise.

[mkradel]

On the Disney Club card is an Entertainment logo. Show the card to receive the Entertainment discounts available on hotels and restaurants. If you go to www.disneyclub.com you can enter a zip code and get the list of businesses, restaurants and hotels that offer the discount for your area, or the area you will be travelling to.

[catdog]

To all you veterans out there...
can someone please explain the card and where you can get one?
Thanks

[mkradel]

You can sign up for the Disney Club membership online at www.disneyclub.com (click on "Join the Club") or by calling 800-654-6347 .

Diane

[tiffany123]

We just became DVC members and we also just recently joined the Disney Club. The Disney Club card has already paid for itself through it's Entertainment benefit. We are going to San Antonio in mid February and I was able to book a $200 per night king suite on the Riverwalk for $65 per night with the Disney Club Entertainment feature. It's easy to find restaurants, shopping, car rental and hotel discounts through the Disney Club website.

[PoohNPiglet]

We have both APs and the DC card. We only had to pay $29 for the DC membership because I get a discount through our company, however, it paid for itself immediately. I just renewed the membership last week. We used it for discounts at the Disney Store, and the Rain Forest Cafe. We also used it to get a discount on our APs when we bought them. But by far the biggest discount has been the rental car! I have a Hertz Gold membership through work and the Disney discount through National just gave me a rate of $134 for 7 days when Hertz's bottomline deal was $240 (and the lady searched the database for the best code she could find for me!). But if you are on a tight budget, you will have to ask yourself if you will use these things or not. If you don't shop at the Disney Store or stay on site, or rent the cars, then maybe it won't be worth it for you.